"The Origins of Greek Philosophy" Dr Rietveld Zoom Talk-Feb 12, 8pm

"The Origins of Greek Philosophy" Zoom talk with Dr James Rietveld-Thurs, February12, 2026, 8pm

History buffs and Philosophy enthusiasts, join us for professor Dr. James Rietveld's Zoom talk "The Origins of Greek Philosophy" for Ipso Facto on Thursday, February 12, 8 pm.

Pay What You Wish. Sorry no refunds.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1977737277436

FB event: www.facebook.com/events/1471794213889223
At one point the mind of humanity suddenly experienced a dramatic fundamental shift, an earthquake of human consciousness with aftershocks still shaking today in regards to the nature of reality!
The origins of this sudden interest, as parsed out from pure & utter superstition, hearsay, & long-established tradition arrived from a group of forgotten Greeks living along western shores of present day Turkey, from the 6th to the 5th century BCE.
Awaking up from a deep slumber, a new intelligence emanated from “Natural Philosophers” rejecting mythology as an explanation for why the universe was how it was, instead seeking “rational” explanations.
They wanted to know the origin of all things, essential building blocks of the universe, & how to prove their speculations, often with mathematical deductions.
From such men as Thales, Anaximander, Anaximenes, Pythagoras, Heraclitus, Empedocles, Leucippe arrived everything from belief that water was the basic element for a life & the concept of the evolution of humanity to the profession that the universe was always in flux & all things were created out of atoms!
We will get to personally know each of them, their stories, odd & entertaining.

Despite professing ideas separated from religion, religious ideas did emerge, like the conception of the Logos (eventually part of the Gospel of John), the journey & nature of the human soul, the belief in the transmigration of souls (reincarnation), the essential power of the 4 Elements, the sudden Ancient Great Awakening of the human mind.

Without these Pre-Socratic philosophers there would be no sophisticated Roman Empire with its idea of Natural Law, no Renaissance, no Enlightenment, no Scientific Age in the West!

Join us!

This lecture will be posted on the Dr. James Rietveld Salon Lecture You Tube channel, where you can also watch previous lectures: dr.jamesrietveldsalonlectu2903

Dr. James Rietveld is a professor at CSU, Fullerton and Cal Poly Pomona, CA of History, Anthropology, Religion with a PHD from Claremont School of Religion, is author of two books, and can be seen on History channel's "Crazy Rich Ancients."